Justin Timberlake
Justin Randall Timberlake (born January 31,1981) is an American singer-songwriter, actor, record producer, businessman, and philanthropist. Born in Memphis, Tennessee, he appeared on the television shows Star Search and The All-New Mickey Mouse Club as a child. In the late 1990s, Timberlake rose to prominence as one of the two lead vocalists and youngest member of the boy band 'N Sync, whose launch was financed by Lou Pearlman. Career 1995–2004: 'N Sync, Justified, and the Super Bowl The boy band 'N Sync formed in 1995, and began their career in 1996 in Europe; Timberlake and Chasez served as its two lead singers. In 1998, the group rose to prominence in the United States with the release of their self-titled debut studio album, which sold 11 million copies and included hit single "Tearin' Up My Heart". Their second album No Strings Attached (2000) sold 2.4 million copies in the first week and included a #1 single, "It's Gonna Be Me". 'N Sync's third album Celebrity (2001) was also financially successful. Upon the completion of the Celebrity Tour, the group went into hiatus in 2002. In its lifetime, 'N Sync was internationally famous and performed at the Academy Awards, the Olympics, and the Super Bowl, as well as selling more than 50 million copies worldwide, becoming the third-best selling boy band in history. In late 1999, Timberlake made his acting debut in the Disney Channel movie Model Behavior. He played Jason Sharpe, a model who falls in love with a waitress after mistaking her for another model. It was released on March 12, 2000. The rise of his own stardom and the general decline in the popularity of boy bands led to the dissolution of 'N Sync. Band member Lance Bass was openly critical of Timberlake's actions in his memoir Out of Sync. In August 2002, Timberlake performed at the 2002 MTV Video Music Awards, where he premiered his debut solo single "Like I Love You"; it peaked at number 11 on the Billboard Hot 100. His debut solo studio album Justified was released in November and debuted at number 2 on the Billboard 200 with first-week sales of 439,000 copies, fewer than previous 'N Sync releases. It went on to sell over three million copies in the U.S. and more than seven million copies worldwide. Its R&B influence, provided by hip-hop producers The Neptunes and Timbaland, was complimented by music critics. The album spawned the top 10 singles "Cry Me a River" and "Rock Your Body". In summer 2003, Timberlake and Christina Aguilera headlined the Justified/Stripped Tour. Later that year he recorded a song "I'm Lovin' It", used by McDonald's as the theme to its "I'm Lovin' It" campaign. The deal with McDonald's earned Timberlake an estimated $6 million. A tour titled Justified and Lovin' It Live was included with the deal. Timberlake was featured on Nelly's song, "Work It", which was remixed and included on Nelly's 2003 remix album. In February 2004, during the halftime show of the Super Bowl XXXVIII broadcast on the CBS television network, Timberlake performed with Janet Jackson before a television audience of more than 140 million viewers. At the end of the performance, as the song drew to a close, Timberlake tore off a part of Jackson's black leather costume in a "costume reveal" meant to accompany a portion of the song lyrics. Jackson's representative explained Timberlake intended "to pull away the rubber bustier to reveal a red lace bra. The garment collapsed and her breast was accidentally revealed." Part of the costume detached, and Jackson's breast was briefly exposed. Timberlake apologized for the incident, stating he was "sorry that anyone was offended by the wardrobe malfunction during the halftime performance of the Super Bowl...." The phrase "wardrobe malfunction" has since been used by the media to refer to the incident and has entered pop culture. Timberlake and Jackson were threatened with exclusion from the 2004 Grammy Awards unless they agreed to apologize on screen at the event. Timberlake attended and issued a scripted apology when accepting the first of two Grammy Awards he received that night (Best Pop Vocal Album for Justified and Best Male Pop Vocal Performance for "Cry Me a River"). He had also been nominated for Album of the Year for Justified, Record of the Year for "Cry Me a River", and Best Rap/Sung Collaboration for "Where Is the Love?" with The Black Eyed Peas. 2004–07: Acting debut and FutureSex/LoveSounds After the Super Bowl controversy, Timberlake put his recording career on hold to act in several films, having starred in a few feature films earlier in his career. The first role he took during this time was as a journalist in Edison Force, filmed in 2004 and received a direct-to-video release on July 18, 2006. He also appeared in the films Alpha Dog, Black Snake Moan, Richard Kelly's Southland Tales, and voiced Prince Artie Pendragon in the animated film Shrek the Third, released on May 18, 2007. He also appeared as a young Elton John, in the video for John's song "This Train Don't Stop There Anymore". Timberlake was considered to play the role of Roger Davis in the film version of the rock musical Rent, but director Chris Columbus had insisted that only the original Broadway members could convey the true meaning of Rent.He continued to record with other artists. After "Where Is the Love?", he again collaborated with the Black Eyed Peas on the 2005 track "My Style" from their album Monkey Business. When recording the 2005 single "Signs" with Snoop Dogg, Timberlake discovered a throat condition. Nodules were subsequently removed from his throat in an operation that took place on May 5, 2005. He was advised not to sing or speak loudly for at least a few months. In 2005, he began his own record company, JayTee Records. Timberlake performing at a concert in St. Paul, Minnesota in January 2007 during the FutureSex/LoveShow Timberlake released his second studio album, FutureSex/LoveSounds , on September 12, 2006. The album, which Timberlake created from 2005 to 2006, debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 album chart, selling 684,000 copies its first week. It is the biggest album for pre-orders on iTunes, and beat Coldplay's record for the biggest one-week sales of a digital album. The album was produced by Timbaland and Danja (who produced a bulk of the album), will.i.am, Rick Rubin and Timberlake himself, and features guest vocals by Snoop Dogg, Three 6 Mafia, T.I. and will.i.am. A studio representative described it as being "all about sexiness" and aiming for "an adult feel". The album's lead single, "SexyBack", was performed by Timberlake at the opening of the 2006 MTV Video Music Awards and reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100, where it remained for seven consecutive weeks. "My Love", the album's second single, also produced by Timbaland and featuring rapper T.I., reached number one on the Hot 100, as did third single "What Goes Around...Comes Around". The song is reported to have been inspired by the break-up of his childhood friend and business partner, Trace Ayala, with actress Elisha Cuthbert. In October 2006, Timberlake said that he would focus on his music career rather than his film roles, specifying that leaving the music industry would be a "dumb thing to do at this point". He was the special guest performer at the 2006 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show for being where he sang SexyBack. In January 2007, Timberlake embarked on the FutureSex/LoveShow tour. "Summer Love/Set the Mood Prelude" was the fourth U.S. single off the album, and the next single in the UK was "LoveStoned/I Think She Knows Interlude". The song "Give It to Me", a Timbaland single on which Timberlake guests with Nelly Furtado, reached the Hot 100 number-one spot. In February 2008, Timberlake was awarded two Grammy Awards. At the 50th Grammy Awards ceremony, he won the Male Pop Performance Award for "What Goes Around...Comes Around", and the Dance Recording Award for "LoveStoned/I Think She Knows". 2007–12: Musical hiatus and focus on acting The song "4 Minutes", was first played by Timbaland at Philadelphia's Jingle Ball on December 17, 2007. When released on March 17, 2008, "4 Minutes" was revealed to be a duet between Timberlake and Madonna, with backing vocals by Timbaland. It was lead single from Madonna's eleventh studio album Hard Candy, which featured four other song-writing collaborations with Timberlake. The single was an international hit, topping the charts in over 21 countries worldwide. Timberlake also appears in the music video, which was directed by Jonas & François. On March 30, 2008, Timberlake performed the song at Madonna's Hard Candy Promo Show at Roseland Ballroom in New York City. On November 6, 2008, Timberlake performed the song with Madonna on the Los Angeles stop of her Sticky & Sweet Tour. In June 2007, Timberlake co-wrote, produced and provided vocals for the songs "Nite Runner" and "Falling Down" for Duran Duran's album Red Carpet Massacre, released on November 13, 2007. "Falling Down" had been released as a single in the UK on the previous day. Also in 2007, Timberlake made an appearance on 50 Cent's third album, Curtis. Timberlake, along with Timbaland, is featured on a track called "Ayo Technology", which was the album's fourth single. Also, another possible collaboration was to occur with Lil Wayne for his album Tha Carter III with Nelly Furtado and Timbaland. With the wrapping up of the FutureSex/LoveSounds tour of Australasia and the Middle East in November 2007, Timberlake resumed his film career. Projects underway early in 2008 were starring roles in Mike Myers' comedy The Love Guru (released June 20, 2008) and Mike Meredith's drama The Open Road (released August 28, 2009). In March 2008 it was announced that he was to be an executive producer in an American adaptation of the hit Peruvian comedy My Problem with Women for NBC. On November 20, 2008, TV Guide reported that Timberlake’s next single, "Follow My Lead", which also featured vocals by Timberlake’s protégée, former YouTube star Esmée Denters, would be available for exclusive download through Myspace. All proceeds would go to Shriners Hospitals for Children, a charity dedicated to improving pediatric care for sick children. In 2008, a collaboration between Timberlake and T.I., "Dead and Gone" featured on T.I.'s sixth studio album, Paper Trail, and was released as its fourth single late in 2009. In November 2008, it was confirmed that Timberlake would make a guest appearance and produce some tracks on R&B/pop singer Ciara's upcoming album Fantasy Ride due out May 5, 2009. Timberlake featured on Ciara's second single "Love Sex Magic", the video being shot on February 20, 2009.The single became a worldwide hit, reaching the top ten in numerous countries and peaking at number one in several countries including Taiwan, India, and Turkey. The single was nominated for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals at the 52nd Grammy Awards. Timberlake and his production team The Y's, along with Mike Elizondo, produced and co-wrote the song "Don't Let Me Down" for Leona Lewis's second studio album, Echo, released (in the US) on November 17, 2009. Timberlake also co-wrote and performed on "Carry Out", the third single from Timbaland's album Shock Value II, released on December 1, 2009. Timberlake was given Sexiest Man titles by Teen People and Cosmopolitan magazines. On February 17, 2009, Timberlake was named the "Most Stylish Man in America" by GQ magazine. In 2011, he ranked No. 46 on AskMen's annual rundown of the 49 Most Influential Men. From 2010, Timberlake increased his acting work. He played Sean Parker, the founder of Napster, in the acclaimed film The Social Network (2010). He also appeared at the 2010 MTV VMAs on September 12, 2010. In 2011, he starred alongside Cameron Diaz in Bad Teacher and then alongside Mila Kunis in Friends with Benefits, and played Will Salas, the protagonist of In Time, a science fiction film by Andrew Niccol. He provided a feature and appeared in the music video for the song Motherlover from The Lonely Island's second album Turtleneck & Chain and directed and made a cameo in the FreeSol music video "Hoodies On, Hats Low" which was released in August 2011. In July 2011 United States Marine Kelsey De Santis uploaded a YouTube video asking Timberlake to be her date to the United States Marine Corps birthday ball; they attended the event on November 13, 2011 in Richmond, Virginia. 2013–present: The 20/20 Experience and 2 of 2 Timberlake began work on his third studio album The 20/20 Experience in June 2012, with "no rules and/or end goal in mind". He publicly announced his return to the music industry in January 2013, releasing the album's lead single "Suit & Tie" featuring Jay-Z later that month, which would eventually peak at number three on the Billboard Hot 100. After four years not performing in concert, Timberlake appeared the night before the 2013 Super Bowl and performed during the "DirecTV Super Saturday Night", on February 2, 2013 in New Orleans. On February 10, 2013, he performed "Suit & Tie" with sepia-toned lighting at the 55th Grammy Awards, with Jay-Z joining him from the audience. On February 11, 2013, "Mirrors" was released as the second single from The 20/20 Experience. The song would eventually peak at number two on the Billboard Hot 100. The 20/20 Experience was released on March 19, 2013 through RCA Records due to the disbandment of Jive Records. The album debuted at number one on the charts by moving just over 980,000 copies. Timberlake also appeared on Jay-Z' twelfth studio album Magna Carta... Holy Grail on three songs including: "Holy Grail", "BBC" (along with Nas, Swizz Beatz, Timbaland, Pharrell Williams and Beyoncé Knowles) and "Heaven". On August 25, 2013, Timberlake received the MTV Video Vanguard Award at the 2013 MTV Video Music Awards. Timberlake's fourth studio album The 20/20 Experience – 2 of 2 was released on September 30, 2013 and debuted at number one on the Billboard 200. Its lead single "Take Back the Night" was released on July 12, 2013. The following single of The 20/20 Experience – 2 of 2 was "TKO." Timberlake was given a production and writing credit on track six on Beyoncé's self-titled fifth studio album, which was given a surprise iTunes release on December 13, 2013. On February 25, 2014, "Not a Bad Thing" was released as the third single from The 20/20 Experience (2 of 2). Personal Life In early 1999, Timberlake began dating fellow former The New Mickey Mouse Club cast member and recording artist Britney Spears. Their relationship ended abruptly in March 2002. The breakup influenced the lyrics and theme of "Cry Me a River". In April 2003, he began dating actress Cameron Diaz soon after they met at the Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards. After much speculation of breakups throughout their relationship, the couple split in December 2006 shortly after she introduced him as musical guest on Saturday Night Live. In January 2007, they denied allegations of an alleged affair between Timberlake and Scarlett Johansson, with whom he had shot the music video for his song "What Goes Around... Comes Around". In January 2007, Timberlake began dating actress Jessica Biel, with whom he had been photographed on multiple occasions. They became engaged in the mountains of Montana in December 2011. The couple married on October 19, 2012 at the Borgo Egnazia resort in Fasano, Italy. He has said he has obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD) mixed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Filmography Films Television Category:1980s births Category:Males